L to R: Reina Tanaka, Airi Suzuki, Miyabi Natsuyaki
Aa! was the next of the groups to be formed with H!P Kids and this time this felt a bit more like a wild shot considering the members involved. You had the new 6th Generation Morning Musume member, Reina Tanaka, who was the leader and then the H!P Kids Airi Suzuki and Miyabi Natsuyaki. To me, they felt like they were the next Gomattou and ironically enough they also lasted just one single before the group went into hiatus mode with the creation of both C-ute and Berryz Koubou.
L to R: Miyabi Natsuyaki, Airi Suzuki, Akari Saho
So like many of the other units/sub-units, Tsunku decided to revive them and Aa! was another that was brought back to life. If you haven’t noticed you might see Reina missing and that’s because she continued to be with High-King (simply because they were an active group). So instead, they brought an Egg into the group, Akari Saho and life went on for a short while before this group was placed back into obscurity (and plus Akari left the Eggs to join Up Up Girls (Kari).
Style of Music: As they were essentially a one-shot unit, Aa!’s first iteration’s song FIRST KISS was a lot like Gomattou’s “SHALL WE LOVE?” in the way it was pretty much an R&B track, but with less vocal talent (no offense). Although, Masayume on the other hand was more of an interesting ballad for them and it shared the acoustic guitars with the A-side so they really worked together!
Once they were revived, Aa!’s 2nd iteration at first was given a cover song from OFF COURSE with YES-YES-YES and that was a pretty cool song and we got to know new member Akari quite well in this slow song. Then they got an original track on Petit Best 10 with Yume no Genjitsu and that song was surprisingly heavy and energetic and poppy plus so many solos! like “FIRST KISS”.
Discography
Singles
FIRST KISS
This is the only PV from Aa! and it’s FIRST KISS…notice how young everyone was here (especially for Airi fans) she was vocally up there at such a young age!
This is Yume no Genjitsu, performed by the 2nd generation of Aa!. I was totally surprised at how smoothly Akari Saho fit in this group and strangely enough (no offense to Momoko fans), this could’ve been an amazing Buono! line-up xD.
Other Things to Mention
-Well, all of the members of the first Aa! is still in H!P currently, but not for long (with Reina graduating)…though it’d be awesome to see her perform “FIRST KISS” one more time alongside Airi and Miyabi ^_^
Overall: Knowing that these groups that included H!P Kids weren’t going to last very long, Aa! had some potential going because of how well these four members turned out to be vocally. This was a pretty promising group, sad they were a one-shot group AND a revival group >.<
So with the previous post, it was suited that I should review all 4 PVs that these groups had done! Of course if you’re too lazy to read the post before, Sakuragumi and Otomegumi were created because of the large amount of Morning Musume members that were together. So shall we?
Hare Ame Nochi Suki♥
The Song: So the first song sung by Sakuragumi and it’s a really sappy love song for them which I guess suited their more romantic direction. I have to say that I really like hearing everyone in the song and especially how much Kame was singing here (which at the time I had never heard her well since she debuted with the 6th Generation.
What Genre is it?: It’s a mid-tempo ballad!
The Premise: Not really much of one
The Setting: There really isn’t much of a setting to be had, minus the dance-shot scenes and possibly the solo shots of them surrounding a lit-up box, but really that’s all there’s to it. Though, the raining petals does make things look a bit more less cheap as hell.
The Outfits: The only outfits we really see are the pink outfits with the black embroidery, I mean they’re cute and effective so it’s not like it was just thrown together in 2 minutes or anything >.> xD
The Choreography: As it is a mid-tempo ballad, I wasn’t expecting as much engagement to the choreography, but there is some in the PV which is a bit odd but kind of cool. Most of the time, we’re focusing more on the close-up shots. Still, for what I saw…it was nice lol.
PV as a whole: I mean, this video was pretty basic (especially for Momusu at the time, plus they had to split to budget with Otomegumi). Hare Ame Nochi Suki♥ is sort of cute, but at the same time it feels like they could’ve done slightly more…but still SO MUCH PINK!!!
Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~
The Song: So Ai no Sono was the first song from Otomegumi and boy was this song quite the kinky little track from a unit mostly containing the cute voices and younger gals (except Kaorin). Granted the song had more of the adorable voices, it was a bit more energetic though but didn’t have the popular members…smart planning?
What Genre is it?: It’s your pop/dance track with a lot of bass!
The Premise: Not much of one
The Setting: Well there’s three big areas, one is the dance-shot area which looks like a SMALLER “The Matenrou Show” but with little pillars of fire, the shots of them falling into the white sheets, and the scenes of them laying around in sand. It’s a bit more engaging than Sakuragumi’s song though so it has that going for it!
The Outfits: There really isn’t anything uniform about the outfits for Ai no Sono, they’re all in specific outfits, but they range in different styles and colors so it’s nothing like “Hare Ame Nochi Suki”. The only thing that could be taken in is the sand shots…but most of the time they look rather naked >.<!
The Choreography: There’s also a bit more fire in Otomegumi’s dancing as shown here because they’re really being quite fierce and bouncy in this song! Plus everyone has a lot of energy to throw around so it really worked for the group.
PV as a whole: I have to say between the two units, Otomegumi won this out by a smidge. I love the energy of this song and the budget was given to them as they had more cooler looking scenes. Ai no Sono might have been a bit naughty lyrically, but this song is pretty awesome too!
Sakura Mankai
The Song: Well Sakuragumi returned for the 2nd bout with their song Sakura Mankai and this time lost a member because Nacchi had graduated from Momosu. I think they took this once again having to deal with the sakura season. It just seems so ironic but this is still a pretty song giving everyone a chance to sing.
The Premise: This has a bit more of a premise being about being a girl in a village (something a little more traditional although).
The Setting: It seems like UFA had decided to give Sakuragumi the budget boost this time around and you can easily tell with the setting where it’s set in a traditional Japanese village! Besides that, there’s scenes where the the girls 1-by-1 walk next to pinwheels spinning and then the dance-shot which was mostly green-screened of them in the clouds and sakura petals falling about.
The Outfits: There’s a bit more in their outfits this time around, but they’re mostly the same pink kimonos throughout (some of the girls get a different outfit but not all of them) and to differentiate them further they wear different colored sashes. Nothing totally special.
The Choreography: Well for this dance, it’s really simple BUT this time around they use fans for their dancing which is a first for Momosu to use props in their dancing. Still the dancing isn’t fully intriguing, but it’s a sweet dance altogether.
PV as a whole: For me, Sakura Mankai’s PV is pretty unique and very sentimental of one as well. It’s just a beautiful artistic video for them and the end with the biting is a bit odd, but still a pretty song with a pretty video.
Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~
The Song: Otomegumi’s second song let the reins go and let the group just go ballistic with the song, especially after Sayu opening the song. It’s very relentless and has a lot of energy in it.
What Genre is it?: I kind of want to say it’s punk rock, but it’s really fast.
The Premise: There really isn’t one besides the girls walking the catwalk.
The Setting: Well it seems like the setting is mostly on the catwalk and there’s a stage for the choreography. Add in shots like they’re looking into a mirror. Yeah, it’s just not working this time around!
The Outfits: So the girls really only one outfit for this video and while they are different according to the girl at hand, they are more uniform as they all are wearing something black and white. I like Kaorin’s hat though lmao.
The Choreography: You know, I never really noticed any until the middle of the song but the choreography is a bit like jumping and throwing your fist in the air. Yeah, it was a bit rambunctious of a dance but it suited the song.
PV as a whole: Yuujou when compared to “Sakura Mankai” definitely showed who got the shorter end of the stick here. The song isn’t terrible, but it’s probably one of my least favorites simply because of the eh vocals and how much Tsunku was in the song xD. I really think the song could’ve used a bit more budget, but whatever…not my favorite.
Back L to R: Asami Konno, Risa Niigaki, Eri Kamei, Hitomi Yoshizawa Front L to R: Mari Yaguchi, Ai Takahashi, Ai Kago, Natsumi Abe
L to R: Makoto Ogawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Sayumi Michishige, Miki Fujimoto, Reina Tanaka, Rika Ishikawa, Kaori Iida
In 2003, Morning Musume had just added the 6th Generation and they were at their largest in member count, so Tsunku thought to alleviate the problem by splitting the group into two separate mini-groups so they can perform at more stages and etc. This came with the creation of Sakuragumi (the more lovey-dovey unit) and Otomegumi (the more wild grouping). Of course they went through one change during this time and that was when Nacchi graduated from Morning Musume.
Style of Music: Well since it’s two units they both had their significant sound.
Sakuragumi was more along the lines of the more slower and romantic side especially with the two original songs they had “Hare Ame Nochi Suki♥” and “Sakura Mankai”.
Otomegumi on the other hand were a bit more scandalous and wild with their songs, especially with their two songs, “Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~” and “Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~”.
Of course both had B-sides (which all of them were of the same songs except their second singles where Sakuragumi covered “Daite HOLD ON ME!” and Otomegumi covered “Summer Night Town”.
Discography
Singles
Hare Ame Nochi Suki♥ (Sakuragumi)
Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~ (Otomegumi)
Sakura Mankai (Sakuragumi)
Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~ (Otomegumi)
Overall: Both groups really had a significant sound going and I thought the idea was going to last longer than it really did, but after their 2nd singles respectively, they were put into inactive space and as time grew on it slimmed to the point where Reina and Sayu are the only members left in H!P that had anything to do with this (though Reina is leaving real soon). BTW the PVs are going to reviewed!
So on our next post in our trip down memory lane, we get into our next four PVs and it suits the title of the post. Along with “Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima”, these A-sides never made it on an actual studio album and was placed on a best album, “Best! Morning Musume 2 instead. Why? There’s no real reason why, but there was a lot of changes in the group line-up just through these four videos! So let’s get to it! BTW, I will not be ranking these videos anymore, just a warning XD
AS FOR ONE DAY
The Song: AS FOR ONE DAY was a song Morning Musume needed to pull the group out of that kiddy-like atmosphere they were pulling off with the last couple of PVs so this was a refreshing song indeed. However, this was also a graduation single for 2nd Generation member, Kei Yasuda. Plus this was also around the time the 6th Generation was announced but didn’t get involved with the single.
What Genre is it?: It’s poppy, but it has some slight Indian vibes to it, but doesn’t strike as hard as “Koi no Dance Site” or “Happy Summer Wedding”.
The Premise: Like I’ve said before, there is less of a premise through most of the PVs nowadays, but a little bit of an allusion to one. AS FOR ONE DAY’s slight premise has the girls standing in the rain alone (in which the lyrics depict that they’re waiting for a guy but he never shows up). Not too much but at least it doesn’t leave you alone xD
The Setting: This is probably the group’s most elaborate set and one of the prettiest as well. Ok, some of the shots are done on a set where it’s raining and the girls are all under umbrellas (except Ai-chan because she has Makoto xD). The other set though is so beautiful with the water theme and the bubble ceiling and the green-screened fish floating around. Definitely something that impressed me especially after that their last PV.
The Outfits: They only had two different outfits. The first one we don’t pay much attention to because it’s just the casual clothing found during the rain/umbrellas shot. The other one is the main outfit for the dance scenes and it looks like a mesh of a poncho, a dress, and trying to look like Koi. It’s a bit odd, but with the dancing going on, it kind of works.
The Choreography: This time around they also toned the dancing down do be a little more smooth and flowing and it works. It’s really a cool dance, but it wasn’t shown as well as it could because of the multiple close-up shots and scenes in the rain that was filtered in (honestly, I would’ve loved a dance-shot version of the PV).
PV as a whole: I have to say that for this being Kei-chan’s final single, this showed a LOT of Kei in the PV and I’m happy about that because it never really seemed she was a HUGE member for the A-sides (she however took a lot of B-sides and album tracks). AS FOR ONE DAY though is just a beautiful PV with so much to look at enjoy, plus the song was really cool as well! I feel as if this had a lot of subtle meaning to it and I liked that the most!
Shabondama
The Song: After Kei left, we had introduced the new 6th Generation members, Reina Tanaka, Sayumi Michishige, and Eri Kamei (with the extra inclusion of Miki Fujimoto who was already a H!P member as well). Of course the new three members joined after singing “Akai Freesia” so much that I was expecting something light, but Shabondama is a total turnaround for the group. Adding in rolling r’s, a much angrier tone of singing and just throwing badass all-around, Shabondama is a favorite to many fans for being so unbuckled and rageworthy. I LOVED IT!
What Genre is it?: It’s definitely focused on more of the rockin’ sound, but has a lot of brass involved as well.
The Premise: There really isn’t any premise to be had besides watching the girls flip out and release their stress out like they did xD
The Setting: Well there were three specific shots of the song. One is the choreography which was set in a dark room and there was water as well. Pretty basic but it fits the angst they’re throwing. Another is the close up shots in front of the red drapes and that’s basic too. The other is the group shots where they’re standing or sitting. It’s really cool that in the beginning they showed the group off with the 6th Generation first and going down the line (with the exception at the end putting Mari with Kaori and Nacchi). That was a cool thing they did!
The Outfits: To me these outfits look slightly like the later “Brainstorming” outfits but this came before xD. There’s two sets. For the “dancing” scenes, they’re in once again casual outfits, but everywhere else the ladies are split into this latex outfits of red, blue, and black coloring and it was a random choice of who wore what.
The Choreography: To me it feels like the there wasn’t so much direct choreography and instead was more like chaotic fierceness! I mean the shots of the girls wailing around is syncopated and all and there is some choreo (especially in the lives) but for the video it was like dramatic poses and powerful movement.
PV as a whole: Shabondama as a whole is amazing to experience. I mean this song was just full of life and different things that were going on. I mean musically, the song is just hardcore and features things Tsunku has never tried before lol. The PV is pretty simple but some of the facial expressions the ladies were given off and the pure energy was very cool! I definitely will say Shabondama is my favorite MM A-side, but the PV is cool too and very befitting too lol.
Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~
The Song: Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~ might be the only song between the four for not having any line-up changes, BUT it did bring something new to the table. No one has a solo in this song, but is split into four groups of ladies. Plus it has a slight soccer theme to it but that’s something else hahaha.
What Genre is it?: Well it’s definitely a pop song, but kind of like a cheer squad kind of song too!
The Premise: There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of premise here, but there’s a soccer theme going on and there’s many scenes of shots of the girls smiling and then being embarrassed by SOMETHING…w/e that is I have no clue about.
The Setting: Most of the song takes place in this small village (which kind of just looks like a set from Hello! Morning and all that…you know cheap stuffs). There’s also some close up shots of the girls in their group which is cool but not sure of what the set behind em is supposed to be. The other shot and really weird is the green screen of the girls in the soccer uniforms (trying to be frozen, but they fail horribly) XD.
The Outfits: So like I said above, the girls are split into 4 teams due to the lyrics of course so the groups are dressed up mostly in grey outfits, but the four teams have accessories according to the team they’re on so like Kame, Marippe, and Rika-chan have white, Ai-chan, Nono, Konkon, and Sayu with yellow, Nacchi, Aibon, Makoto, and Reina have blue, and finally Kaori, Yossie, Mikitty, and Gaki have red itens. You really don’t pay attention to em since you see their faces a lot more than what they wear but y’know. The other outfit they wore was their orange soccer uniforms and they all wear them. Basic stuff.
The Choreography: It was kind of like slow parapara dancing here which is different, but so simple and controlled compared to “Shabondama”. They did some cat-like moves too and some punching/kicking. Nothing too extravagant.
PV as a whole: After all that power from the last single, Go Girl was a nice calm and for what the song was, it was nice to see something a bit more happier and bright. I did find the solo scenes with the girls saying “suki” and get embarrassed was a little strange, but the song was fun and the video was cute too.
Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT
The Song: The final song on this post, Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT is well-known because it’s the final A-side for Nacchi! Also this song has a feel that’s suited for the occasion.
What Genre is it?: It’s a bit slower than “Go Girl” but it’s still pretty poppy and bouncy.
The Premise: I wish I knew what the premise of this was because I really don’t see one besides the ladies just hanging out together…know what I mean?
The Setting: I can’t fully explain it but damn it was cheaper than their last PV. They start by coming out of a box 1 by 1 and then it turns into the dance shot of the PV where the dance in front of a set depicting an Armageddon with a sunset background xD. There’s also a TINY house but inside, it’s a wide open white space with the girls chilling on couches or on the floor being cutesy. Kind of bland if you asked me
The Outfits: Once again, there’s casual outfits involved (but it’s only found during the “hanging out” scenes). The other major outfit is used for the dancing scenes and it’s school outfits split in between baby blue and pink. Like I said simple stuff xD
The Choreography: Luckily the PV did focus a whole lot on the dance and well the dance is OK, a bit weird in places and some of the moves are a tad strange at angles, but they kept it bouncy and kind of cute in a way. Though most of the time near the end, they’re waving their hands back an forth.
PV as a whole: I’m not going to lie, but I was never a fan of the song or PV but many fans love it. I think my problem with the song is that it’s a little too cheesy and pretty weak of a song…strangely enough. Ai Araba does have a nice dance routine throughout. About the PV, it was a little strange and the set was VERY cheap…so much WHIIIIITE….
Iroppoi Twilight Game 